Smart vehicle registration plate

• US 6,641,038 B2
• Filed: 06/25/2001
• Issued: 11/04/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 06/25/2001
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Alcatel-Lucent USA, Inc. (Nokia Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Lucent Technologies, Inc. (Nokia Corporation)
• Inventors: Gehlot, Narayan, Lawrence, Victor
• Primary Examiner(s): Le, Thien M.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Hess, Daniel A.
• Application Number:
  US09/891,633
• Publication Number:
  US 20020195490A1
• Time in Patent Office: 862 Days
• Field of Search: 235/384, 340/426, 340/933, 342/44, 902/00
• US Class Current: 235/384
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 13/10 Registration, licensing, or like devices

Abstract

A smart vehicle registration plate for a vehicle have a computing unit configured to process vehicle related information, and a display, the display having one or more information display regions, for displaying the vehicle related information. The information display regions may be updateable by the computing unit as a function of changes to the vehicle related information.

Claims

1. A smart vehicle registration plate adapted for visible mounting to a vehicle comprising:

a computing unit having a first user interface arranged for access by a user of said vehicle and a second user interface arranged exclusively for access by a vehicle regulatory authority, said computing unit being configured to process vehicle related information; and

a display having one or more information display regions for displaying said processed vehicle related information, said information display regions displaying said processed vehicle related information under the control of said computing unit so as to be visible from a vantage point external to the vehicle.

2. The smart vehicle registration plate of claim 1, further comprising:

a housing adapted for mounting to a vehicle registration plate receiving portion of the vehicle.

3. The smart vehicle registration plate of claim 2, wherein said computing unit is disposed within said housing.

4. The smart vehicle registration plate of claim 1, further comprising:

a GPS receiver system for obtaining vehicle position information and communicating said information to said computing unit.

5. The smart vehicle registration plate of claim 4, wherein one or more of said information display regions are adapted to display information that is updated as a function of said vehicle position information.

6. The smart vehicle registration plate of claim 4, wherein said information display regions include an experience in area region, said experience in area region being under the control of said computing unit as a function of said vehicle position information.

7. The smart vehicle registration plate of claim 1, further comprising:

a receiving unit adapted to receive information from at least one other vehicle, said receiving unit being coupled to said computing unit.

8. The smart vehicle registration plate of claim 1, further comprising:

a transmitting unit adapted to transmit information to at least one other vehicle, said transmitting unit being coupled to said computing unit.

9. The smart vehicle registration plate of claim 1, further comprising:

a storage unit adapted to save information related to a vehicle-related event, said storage unit being coupled to said computing unit.

10. The smart vehicle registration plate of claim 9, wherein said vehicle-related event is an accident.

11. The smart vehicle registration plate of claim 9, further comprising:

a communication unit adapted to communicate said saved information to a third party entity.

12. The smart vehicle registration plate of claim 1, wherein said one or more information display regions include a registration number region.

13. The smart vehicle registration plate of claim 1, wherein said one or more information display regions include an expiration date region.

14. The smart vehicle registration plate of claim 1, wherein said one or more information display regions include a state identifier region.

15. The smart vehicle registration plate of claim 1, wherein said information display regions further include at least one from the set of regions consisting of:

an emergency message region;

a personal message region;

a country identifier region;

a county identifier region;

a last accident/violation region; and

an experience in area region.

16. The smart vehicle registration plate of claim 1, further comprising a sensing unit for sensing biometric data related to the driver, said sensing unit being coupled to said computing unit, said computing unit being adapted to control said information display regions so that one or more of said information display regions displays information that is a function of said biometric data.

17. The smart vehicle registration plate of claim 1, wherein said vehicle related information is scrolled across at least one of said information display regions.

18. The smart vehicle registration plate of claim 1, wherein said first and said second user interfaces are chosen from the set of interfaces consisting of a keyboard, a card swipe input unit and a voice activated unit.

19. The smart vehicle registration plate of claim 18, wherein at least a portion of said user interface is disposed within a portion of an interior of said vehicle.

20. The smart vehicle registration plate of claim 18, wherein at least a portion of said user interface is disposed on an external surface of said vehicle.

21. The smart vehicle registration plate of claim 1, wherein said vehicle related information includes information related to a driver of said vehicle.

22. The smart vehicle registration plate of claim 1, wherein said computing unit is disposed proximate to said display.

23. The smart vehicle registration plate of claim 1, wherein said computing unit is wirelessly coupled to said display.

24. The smart vehicle registration plate of claim 1, wherein said processed vehicle related information comprises information related to whether or not the vehicle has been stolen.

25. A method of displaying vehicle related information external to a vehicle, said method comprising the steps of

processing vehicle related information by a computing device, said computing device having a first user interface arranged for access by a user of said vehicle and a second user interface arranged exclusively for access by a vehicle regulatory authority;

and

displaying said processed vehicle related information at a display device associated with said vehicle under the control of said computing unit.

26. The method of claim 25, further comprising:

receiving at said computing unit vehicle position information for said vehicle from a GPS receiver system; and

updating said display device by said computing unit as a function of said received vehicle position information.

27. A smart vehicle registration plate adapted for visible mounting to a vehicle comprising:

a computing unit configured to process vehicle related information, said computer unit including a user interface disposed at said vehicle; and

a display having one or more information display regions for displaying said processed vehicle related information, said information display regions displaying said processed vehicle related information under the control of said computing unit so as to be visible from a vantage point external to the vehicle;

wherein said user interface is operative to provide dynamic control of at least a portion of said display regions for a user of said vehicle.